The life of a South Wales mining village is changed for ever when a doctor and his wife arrive from the Indian sub-continent in the Sixties. Starring Sanjeev Bhaskar (Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars At No. 42), Ayesha Dharker (Coronation Street, Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee) and Mark Williams (Harry Potter, The Fast Show), the series tells the story of Dr Prem Sharma, a high-flying Delhi graduate who arrives in the UK in 1963 as part of the "first wave" of Indian doctors wooed by the then health minister, Enoch Powell. Prem and his wife, Kamini, want to build a new life for themselves following a family tragedy but, rather than finding a glamorous job as a consultant in London, they find themselves in the sleepy Welsh coal mining village of Trefelin. The local doctor has died and Prem is his replacement. Prem isn't quite the new doctor that the locals expected to get and they're not the only ones who are shocked: Prem's regal wife isn't too happy with the situation either. Life in the village centres on the pit and the Coal Board's local manager, Richard Sharpe, is keen to welcome the new arrivals but he also has a few skeletons in his closet and is very concerned about the whereabouts of the previous doctor's green leather diary... Meanwhile, as Prem strikes up some new friendships and starts to settle into life in the Valleys, Kamini is determined they are leaving as soon as possible. It won't be plain sailing and Prem quickly starts to realise that things are not quite as they should be.

Customer Reviews

Poignant social comment

Set in the 60's in a Welsh mining village, a well educated Indian doctor & his beautiful wife arrive and are greeted with some suspicion, due to his race in part. The locals come around slowly, with the exception of the mine manager, who has his own agenda.

It is a wonderful BBC mini-series, well worth watching.The acting is first class, as is the script/story line.

It IS social commentary - for younger viewers, it is a good look at how things were before we became multi cultural societies.